So this is Free Ranging (in the winter).

Okay...maybe clearing a swath of perfectly good grass was NOT a good idea. I imagined the girls would eat the grass...not dig to CHINA! Their feet were coated black with the soil they dug in. Later, when I held Ditzy, she reminded what it felt like to be six and allowed to dig in the dirt. My mama was never afraid to let us, her children, explore the world around us...Oddly, I feel the need to provide just the same nuturing to "my girls" as that which I recieved from my own mama. Gosh she's the best! BTW, Happy Birthday, MOM. Luv ya.
~Karen

Happy New Year; Welcome to our Winter Wonderland

Amazingly beautiful.

I am thankful I still appreciate the beauty of a heavy, but fluffy light snowfall. I actually enjoy shoveling, which is good, as the path to the coop seems far longer now that I have to shovel it to and fro! The girls are never happy to be cooped up...and I feel bad that they have no where to range free. While shoveling the path I found that the grass is still "spring" fresh. I may dig out a large swath and let them graze.

Wishing You a Merry Christmas!

Cat Asserts Territory

Peepers, our cat, asserts her ownership of crabtree- which is located just outside our entry door. Clearly, she was fed up with sharing her tree with the chickens. I am hoping for a sign that world peace is possible;
I will be sure to video Peepers and the chickens if they ever choose to cohabitate in the tree-Peacefully.
Peace and Goodwill to all...

Love,
Karen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoLV5m9Eujw

View post Who's at the Door 12/07/2009

A Civil War Hen Fact

During the Civil War, General Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Confederate Army, carried a hen with him so the hen could lay fresh eggs for his beakfast.

Huge egg!

Beautiful eggs from my beautiful girls!No wonder the egg was so big; a double yolk;twins!

Winter Blues

Just for fun, Karen's Backyard Chicken Blog has a new look.
The girls are still frolicking all over the yard. As long as the wind isn't blowing fiercely, I believe they will continue to venture outside. They do not like to be cooped up and they do not hesitiate to vocalize their displeasure with me when I close them up into the aviary which is attached to the back side of their coop.
The girls are five and one half months old now. Three are laying: Yolanda, Ditzy and Mabeline (I think). Yolanda's eggs are light brown with small white specks. Ditzy's are a soft beige/brown all over. Mabeline's eggs are dark brown. One of the girls layed an egg without the shell in the yard under some pine branches that came down during last week's strong winds. I am not concerned, as this is common according to experienced keepers.